Although her powers were obviously superior, her escape was just a little too convenient.
The surveillance cameras in the alley hadn’t revealed anything out of the ordinary, but that was before she’d used her power to tear up the area. Her shock wave had damaged the cameras beyond recall.
So he hadn’t been able to see whether she’d had help. But Rome’s visit today was a little too coincidental. And Jeff had never really believed in coincidences. Everything was planned.
Rome had agreed to find Harper Kane again, but something in his eyes seemed amiss.
Doubt.
Rome had never asked questions about a job. Never doubted what task he was given.
But there were definite questions in his casual interest as he’d sat there, asking about Harper Kane.
The agent had admitted to witnessing her power. Could he be trusted with that knowledge? Especially given the suspicious vibe Jeff had sensed?
Maybe Rome had come here to feel him out. Maybe he already had the woman and was going to use her for his own purposes. Maybe the two were a team.
No. Harper Kane and the serum that flowed inside her was his. Jeff wasn’t going to take any chances. He needed that formula, and he’d get it from the bitch if it was the last thing he did.
And no one, not even his best agent, was going to stand in his way.
Picking up the handset of his phone, Jeff dialed the number for his enhanced task force. He tried to think of every hiding place Rome had. He knew of only a few. He’d never had to tail him before, but he was certain Agent Rome Lucian had unlimited resources. Rome was that good. So it was going to be a challenge.
But Jeff loved challenges. He knew Rome did, too.
So, it was war. The prize?
Harper Kane.
Another undead attacker exploded across the television screen as Harper maneuvered her computerized warrior through a dark forest, hacking and slashing everything in her way with her giant sword.
Ragged zombies continued to emerge from behind nearly every rock and tree, swarming around her character, grunting while they persisted with their all-out assault, trying to keep her from reaching the magical fortress.
It was a nice break to mindlessly play the video game, allowing her to set her troubles aside for blessed spurts of time. Immersing herself in the game also helped put her worry for Rome on hold.
But not entirely. She found her mind wandering while her hands intuitively operated the controller. She wasn’t convinced that Rome was being prudent in chatting up his boss. He’d been confident that no one would be the wiser. She wasn’t so sure. Was she just a skeptical Sally now that her life had been turned every way but right?
Maybe. But although she was new to this cloak-and-dagger stuff, she was pretty certain that you just didn’t walk up to the people who ordered a hit on the girl you were now helping and ask them questions about it. What if they suspected she and Rome were a team? Would they kill him?
Dramatic music filtered into her thoughts. Eyeing the television screen, she saw her warrior surrounded. How appropriate.
Harper completely empathized with her red-haired heroine, twitching while she turned her character in circles. She herself had been in the same situation. Though her attackers weren’t slobbering zombies with staves.
She quickly activated her character’s inventory to see what, if anything, she could use against her threatening enemies. A box flashed across the screen, showing her everything she’d found, bought, or stolen while on her journey. What did she have that could get her out of the potentially fatal circumstances?
The zombies closed in on her waiting warrior. Harper noticed that she possessed a magical spell that would raze the zombies for good. Well, it sounded cool. She’d do it.
Casting the spell, Harper watched her simulated warrior sheathe her sword and raise her hand as a sparkling silver hue encased the character.
A gleaming energy wave burst from the outstretched hand like a shimmering bubble. In flashes of computerized smoke, the hostile zombies vanished one by one as the wave swept through them, clearing the way to the castle for her digital warrior.
A muted thud drew Harper’s attention away from the television screen. Glancing down, she saw the controller on the carpeted floor and her empty trembling hands. Realization swamped her senses. She actually had those powers.
But instead of obliterating simulated zombies, she’d killed real people. Actual human beings had died at her hands. Because of her inadvertent power. The inadvertent power she had purposefully used.
Harper felt sick. Her stomach churned like it was folding into itself. She wrapped her shaking arms around her roiling torso, trying to ease the shocking pain.
She was a murderer. She’d killed in real life. Not in some video game.
Yet, the reason was the same. To survive. She had to make sure she remembered that.
Survival. She needed to keep going in order to get revenge for Bobby.
With effort, Harper uncoiled her body and sat up straight, sucking in several deep breaths and blowing them out slowly. On screen her character was ready and waiting for Harper to put her into action. Instead she reached to shut the game off.
Okay. Okay, Harper. She couldn’t change the past. But she could shape the future she wanted. Relax. She wanted revenge. Focus. She began to take easy, measured breaths, just as she did before a race.
Yesterday she had been able to summon the power and control it. Well, not quite control, but she’d directed it. Though the brutes she’d been up against had somehow met it head-on with a power similar to hers, she’d been able to have a shred of command over her mind’s energy.
But not inside the facility itself. Harper leaned against the back of her chair, deep in thought. No, it hadn’t worked inside.
The trigger seemed to be related to her emotions. It had come unbidden the times she’d been in extreme pain from thinking about Bobby and her unthinkable situation. The first time she’d been able to temper it was at Rome’s. She’d been upset but hadn’t wanted to hurt him.
But in the facility, she’d wanted to get out, not caring who or what she might hurt. Yet her mind hadn’t cooperated. The energy hadn’t been there for her, no matter how much pain she’d endured.
Taking a deep, controlled breath, she focused on the stack of game boxes on the table and attempted to summon the energy in her mind and direct it toward the innocuous pile. Nothing. Okay, so what was different? Inside versus outside? No, that couldn’t be it. She’d been inside Bobby’s lab and the power had come without command, from an overload of grief.
Shaking her head in frustration, she stood and walked out of the room. Heading to the refrigerator, she pulled out a bottle of water and twisted off the cap. Taking a long sip, she relished the cool liquid as it refreshed her body and settled her mind.
Rome had told her to stay inside, but she decided she needed fresh air. Suffocation was clutching at her.
She had changed into her own clothes now that they were clean, but she stopped by the bedroom to pick up one of Rome’s well-worn gray sweatshirts. Smiling at the cozy oversized fit and the big maroon and gold M on the chest, Harper pushed the long cotton arms up past her wrists and walked to the front area of the warehouse.
Only the one sliding door faced her. The entrance was just large enough for the Bug to creep through. Walking across the empty space, she glanced toward the security box on the wall. Red lights warned her that some sort of alarm was activated. She smiled. Was he trying to keep her in or everyone else out? Most likely out, given that she’d told him she was a programmer, and surely he’d figured she’d be able to deactivate it.